What is Extraverted Judging?
Extraverted Thinking (Te) and Extraverted Feeling (Fe) are judging functions that face outward, focused on the world. Jung referred to extraverted judgers as being extraverted rational types. Te and Fe are object-oriented since they are extraverted functions. The judgements these functions produce will instill in someone a desire to structure their external world to be in line with those judgements. The higher this set of functions finds itself in your stack, the greater that desire will be.
The result of Te/Fe’s influence causes the user to seek a level of control over the external world, as this is required to bring it into harmony with the external judgements that have been made. In short, Te dominants (ENTJs and ESTJs) will like to take control of the ideas and actions that impact impersonal structures. On the other hand, Fe dominants (ENFJs and ESFJs) will desire to take control of interpersonal structures. They will naturally gravitate toward roles where they can ensure the harmony that they want can be achieved.
Extraverted thinking is the dominant (first) function for the ESTJ and ENTJ, the auxiliary (second) function for the INTJ and ISTJ, the tertiary (third) function for the ESFP and ENFP, and the inferior (fourth) function for the ISFP and INFP. On the other hand, extraverted feeling is the dominant (first) function for the ESFJ and ENFJ, the auxiliary (second) function for the INFJ and ISFJ, the tertiary (third) function for the ESTP and ENTP, and the inferior (fourth) function for the ISTP and INTP. Placement plays a significant role in how a cognitive function will manifest, which will not be discussed in the below descriptions, since the intended purpose is just to provide general overviews. To read descriptions of specific placements for Te and Fe, check out The Cognitive Functions In Each Position: Te and Fi and The Cognitive Functions In Each Position: Ti and Fe.
Extraverted Thinking (Te)
As an extraverted judging function based on thinking, Te users “extravert” their objective (object-based) logic onto the world in order to create structure. It will instill a desire within the user to restructure their thought process to conform to the external environment, or restructure the external environment to conform to their thought process. Te users take the objective logic and facts that they have learned and apply it to their external world, and the external world of those around them. This logic is impersonal (removed from emotional data) and forms the basis for all their decisions. As a result of basing their logic off of the external world, Te users are very much concerned with external structures, objects, and physical tasks. The environment can be changed if it means improving the structure. Every task has an ideal order of operations, and the Te user will find it and apply it. In addition, all learned facts must be verified by an external source before they’ll be accepted. When one of their ‘facts’ is contradicted, the basis and support for this new ‘fact’ must present a sound logical reason as to why it opposes already known information. Usually this is done in the form of some kind of real world demonstration of the new information. Once the new information has been verified, old opposing information is discarded and considered incorrect. Everything to a Te user is either right or wrong, with little gray area. If something opposes what the Te user has deemed to be an established fact or the most efficient method, it is judged as wrong and rejected. It is in this way that Te maintains structure.
Read an in-depth analysis of Extraverted Thinking here: Exploring Extraverted Thinking (Te).
Extraverted Feeling (Fe)
As an extraverted judging function based on feeling, Fe focuses on interpersonal dynamics in the external world. Fe brings about a desire to unify the external emotional or social environment, bringing everyone into a state of harmony. They do so by prioritizing social rules, or a social “structure” which they believe will promote this desired harmony. As a feeling function, Fe places value on the emotions of others, driving the user to resolve the emotional and interpersonal problems of those around them. The feelings of an extraverted feeler are often highly influenced by the external environment around them, sometimes to the point that they lose touch with their own personal feelings. This ties into the fact that Fe is object-oriented, focused on the external world rather than their subjective internal one. Since they wish to be fully in sync with the surrounding environment, they may also seek to alter the social environment around them to align with what they believe to be best for all. Since Fe is an objective feeling function, a Fe user doesn’t have to personally identify with a situation someone else is going through to ‘share’ that emotion with them. Instead, they recognize the feeling in someone else, and due to their ‘sensitivity’ to extraverted emotion, they will mirror the emotion. In other words, if the other person in the room is happy, the Fe user will feel happy. If the other person in the room is sad, the Fe user will feel sad… etc. As a result, a Fe user’s self-worth and identity may become wrapped up in other people’s perspective of them, since they are putting a higher priority on the emotional responses of others. In extremely unhealthy subjects, this can lead to contradictory or fake behavior, if the Fe user has lost touch with their own identity.
Read an in-depth analysis of Extraverted Feeling here: Exploring Extraverted Feeling (Fe).
